Photo by Alexa Herrera Condry
Aerosol Exhibition • Morris Museum • Photo Credit Alessandro Fresco Cerdas
Photo by Habiyb Shu'Aib
Will Kasso Condry
Originally from Trenton, New Jersey, Will Kasso Condry is a renowned visual artist, graffiti scholar, and educator. His artistic career, which spans over two decades, includes graffiti writing, street art, community murals, exhibiting, and teaching. As founder and executive director of SAGE Coalition, a Trenton community arts non-profit organization dedicated to organizing and implementing inner-city beautification projects, Will worked for many years with young people and blighted communities to broaden their perspectives on the role the arts can play in expanding and enriching lives. In 2015, he received the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for Service to the Community.
Since relocating to Vermont, Will has taught at Middlebury College, as well as at the K-12 levels. He has served as the Artist-in-Residence at several higher education institutions, including the University of Vermont, Princeton University, and Middlebury College. In 2022, Will was awarded the inaugural Vermont Prize, which “celebrates and supports the best visual art being made in Vermont today.” Will’s murals and illustrations have been commissioned by The Alchemist Brewery, Ben & Jerry’s, Fast Company, Firmenich, MetLiveArts, Metropolis Ensemble, Upper Pass Beer, and more. He is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Vermont Arts Council.
Photo by Isora Lithgow Creations
“Will Kasso Condry impresses in every way. For Condry, it is abundantly clear that the form and content of his work matters just as much as how, why, and for whom he makes that work. Premised on deeply held ethical beliefs, his visually stunning, highly chromatic, labor-intensive drawings and paintings take their inspiration from Afrofuturism, a philosophy that privileges Black agency, creativity, and excellence, forging a political and aesthetic language that serves as a corrective to past and present wrongs. In the works submitted for the Vermont Prize, Condry uses acrylic, ink, and marker to conjure up new, extraordinary forms of Black humanity. Adapting African traditions, his “more than humans” are almost always armored and ornamented and immersed in fantastical, otherworldly landscapes. Together they amaze and inspire. Condry’s larger practice is equally worthy of accolades, marrying as it does a commitment to pedagogy, collaboration, social justice, and community engagement. Condry is an exceptional artist doing exceptional work in and for Vermont.”
— Kelly Baum, Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Curator of Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“My work centers around unlimited and uncharted imagination without borders. I speak through color and composition. With the stroke of a brush or the spray of a can, I become one with whatever medium is at my fingertips and disposal. I’m a storyteller in the great traditions of the griots of West Africa. I use my art to weave the rich and layered stories of the African diaspora through a lens of an Afro-futuristic artist and educator. Be it fantastical or rooted in our current reality, my work reflects the multitude of dimensions and realities Black people navigate. I want the observer to be transported within a universe filled with unlimited possibilities. The goal is ‘Liberation Thru Imagination.’ Black joy is the root that binds it all.”
— Will Kasso Condry
Kasso’s Journey | State of the Arts
“Colors” | Will Kasso Condry | TEDxMiddlebury
